Buzzy London ‘Cabaret’ Heading To Broadway This Spring With Eddie Redmayne, Gayle Rankin Starring

Greg Evans
·3 min read
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As long expected, London’s hit immersive staging of the beloved Kander & Ebb classic Cabaret starring Eddie Redmayne as the emcee will move to Broadway this spring, with Gayle Rankin taking the role of Sally Bowles.

Previews will begin April 1, 2024, at the August Wilson Theatre, with an official opening night of April 21. An opening gala is set for April 20. The musical features music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and a book by Joe Masteroff.

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Director of the London production, Rebecca Frecknall, will do the same for Broadway, as will designer Tom Scutt. As with the London production, Cabaret on Broadway will be presented as an immersive, in-the-round staging, turning the August Wilson into the storied Kit Kat Klub, with audience members offered pre-show drinks and dining to evoke pre-World War II Berlin.

Said director Frecknall, “Cabaret is a masterpiece of writing which continues to reveal its richness to us. Masteroff, Kander, and Ebb have created characters on the brink, in a world where the rules are changing. Acts of courage, defiance, hope, delusion, fear, and anger ricochet between them and their circumstances, all intensely human responses to a world in chaos. I’m so excited to be reuniting with Eddie as our devilishly seductive Emcee, the metaphorical soul of Berlin, and I cannot wait to dive into rehearsals with Gayle, a fearless actor of supreme talent, as she explores Cabaret’s magnetic core, the breathtaking and heartbreaking Sally Bowles.”

The original staging of the London revival featured Jessie Buckley as Sally.

Additional casting and other news about Cabaret on Broadway will be announced in the coming weeks.

“I am completely honored,” said Rankin, “to hold hands with Sally inside of this singular, powerful production, and forever grateful to Rebecca, Eddie, and the whole family for inviting me into its creation on Broadway.” Rankin has a strong background in theater, and will be seen in the second season of HBO’s House of the Dragon as healer Alys Rivers.

Redmayne, too, weighed in, saying in a statement, “It was whilst playing ‘The Emcee’ in a student production of Cabaret over 25 years ago that my love for theater was properly ignited,. It now feels completely thrilling and a little surreal to be a part of Rebecca’s truly unique vision of Masteroff, Kander, and Ebb’s brilliance as it arrives on Broadway, where the piece has such a history. I am beyond excited to be doing it arm-in-arm with the remarkable Gayle Rankin and a truly stunning cast and team. I am hoping we will create an experience for you quite unlike any other.”

Redmayne and Rankin are confirmed to play a limited engagement through August 31, 2024. Beginning on June 17, Redmayne will not perform on Monday evenings and Rankin will not perform at Wednesday matinees.

The creative team also includes Julia Cheng (choreography), Jennifer Whyte (Music Supervision & Music Direction), Isabella Byrd (Lighting Design), Nick Lidster for Autograph (Sound Design), Sam Cox (Hair & Wig Design), and Guy Common (Makeup Design).

The producing team includes Ambassador Theatre Group Productions, Underbelly, Gavin Kalin Productions, Hunter Arnold, Smith & Brant Theatricals, and Wessex Grove.

The West End production of Cabaret is now entering its third year and recently welcomed new stars Jake Shears as ‘The Emcee’ and Rebecca Lucy Taylor as ‘Sally Bowles.’

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